Five Things I've Learned In My First Ten Weeks As A Mother

On Thursday, Gretchen will be ten weeks old & already I have learned so much. Some things were expected, some came as a surprise & for all of them I am grateful.

01. I have learned how to breastfeed successfully! This makes me so incredibly happy, especially since we had difficulties with it at the beginning. Thanks to the support & advice of friends & medical professionals I was able to persist! I can now say that I absolutely love breastfeeding & it makes me feel very fourtunate & fabulous. I will continue breastfeeding as long as I possibly can (which means pumping a lot when/if I end up working again). I feel such a special bond from breastfeeding & I'm really proud of myself for sticking out the rough patches.

02. I've learned the art of babywearing. I absolutely love wearing my daughter. We have three different types of carriers -- the CuddlyWrap, a Baby Bjorn & a Heart to Heart sling -- all great for different reasons. My favourite for the time being is the Cuddly. I love having her so close & snuggled to my heart -- it's also fantastic for helping her fall asleep.

03. I have learned what it feels like to worry about someone so tiny & so beautiful that your heart can hardly handle it. When my daughter wasn't gaining weight, or when she had a fever last week, my insides hurt. However, as one of my readers mentioned, these are the things that make you stronger. Thankfully in both of these situations I also got to feel so happy when she was finally growing & gaining weight and of her recovering from her fever & smiling at me once again. These are the moments that recharge your soul & make you feel like a wonderful parent.

04. I have learned that I love cosleeping. Going to sleep beside my gorgeous little girl & waking up to that smiling face warms my heart to the core. Ryan & I talk to her when she wakes up & we get to see the first smiles of the day -- even more exhilarating than that first cup of coffee in the morning. Cosleeping also makes those night feedings so much easier. Roll, latch, nurse, sleep! I almost never have to get out of bed at night anymore & that makes for a fairly well slept mama (and in these first months, sleep is aking to sanity).

05. I have learned that no matter how much love I thought I had to give, the moment I saw my daughter for the very first time, I had more. So much more than I could have conceived. So much more than could have been described to me. She is the best thing that has ever happened to both Ryan & myself. I still feel like I'm bursting with love each time I look at her & since I spend about 20 hours a day doing just that, I'm sure you can begin to imagine the workout my heart is getting. My heart has never felt stronger.

I know that I have learned a ton of other things in these first ten weeks, but most importantly I have learned that I absolutely adore being a mother. I always thought that I would & now that I'm experiencing it -- It's amazing.

Simply amazing.